His career began at age 14, drawing sports cartoons and his comic strip about a dog, Homeless Hector, for the Chicago Daily News in 1899.

During his lifetime, he was toastmaster or master of ceremonies at an estimated 16,000 events, including charity affairs, dinners and stage benefits.

Involved in a legal battle with Hearst from 1933 to 1935, Hershfield drew a Sunday half-page, According to Hoyle, for the New York Herald-Tribune during those years.

[4] Soon after he brought Abie the Agent to an end during 1940, he became a well-known radio personality, telling jokes on the programs Stop Me If You've Heard This One and Can You Top This?

Hershfield was master of ceremonies on the program, which had winners from local amateur talent contests competing for an engagement of one week at the Palace Theater.

[1] Names and dates from Holtz's American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide:[6] Sunday toppers for Abie the Agent: Ron Goulart, in Encyclopedia of American Comics, described Hershfield's cartoon humor: In 1912, Hershfield switched heroes and introduced a new strip called Dauntless Durham of the U.S.A. Durham, a handsome, pipe-smoking combination of Sherlock Holmes, Nick Carter and Frank Merriwell, was the soul of honor and polite to a fault.